The Girl Who Read
by hurdygurd
Summary: Books? Books. Books! Books...
1. Chapter 1

Two girls stare at a computer screen expectantly. "Why isn't it loading?" "I don't know, because the library's wifi is slow?"

As they talk in whispers, another girl walks up behind them. She taps them on the shoulders. Both girls turn around, startled. "What do you want?"

The strange girl speaks in a quiet voice. "You can't get on the Internet. These computers are only for reserving books on the catalog. Go over by the nonfiction section."

The other girls nod, closing the page and walking over to a computer by the Dewey Decimal chart on a bookshelf.

One glances back, and sees the girl walk over to a bookshelf. She leans against it, and stares at the other girl until she looks away. Looking back up, the first girl sees the other has disappeared.

An old woman with grey hair is scanning a shelf. She glances uncertainly down at the book in her hand, and adjusts her spectacles.

The same girl who helped out the girls earlier emerges from another row. "Hello," she says to the woman. "Are you wondering where to shelf that? It goes right there." The girl points to a space between a book on geodes and a classified list of gemstones.

The woman nods to the girl, and shelves the book. Just as quickly as she appeared, the girl disappeared into another aisle.

A young boy named Peter runs to the Reserved Books section and looks for a comic book he'd reserved earlier. He wilts slightly when he doesn't see it under P.

The girl emerges from one of the shelves and walks over to the boy. "What are you looking for?" The little boy looks at her suspiciously, and says "My name's Peter. I'm trying to find my Spiderman book, but it's not here." He gestures to the P section.

The girl laughs slightly, and smiles. "Oh, what's your last name? The books you reserve are always under your last name." The boy seemed to grasp the concept and said "My full name is Peter Stacki!" He turns around and looks through a few of the S books before finding his comic.

"Thanks mystery girl!" Peter waves and runs off to the Children's Section, where his father was waiting for him. The girl smiles and waves goodbye to the boy, and walks over to the Teen Fiction section.

She melts into the books.

Literally.

Valerie spotted Hikaru running towards _Say Something_. "Hey! Hikaru!"

Hikaru turned around, and waved to Valerie. "Hi!" Valerie strode over to Hikaru, and asked "Have you seen Nick lately?" Hikaru shook her head. "Nah. He might be around, but yeah..."

Valerie nodded. "Ok, I'll be with Duce if you need me."

Hikaru pretended to salute, and then ran off into the white fog.

Hikaru skidded to a stop. This wasn't _Say Something_. She must've gone the wrong direction. She turned around, and strode back toward _Hate List_.

Then, of course, she was picked up.

Hikaru stumbled, and fell over. It felt a little bit like an earthquake, except, you know, being inside a book that's being picked up.

She looked up at the milky ceiling, and saw a grey-haired girl with a giant black coat holding the book. The girl flipped the book over to read the backside, causing Hikaru to roll over.

"Damnit..." Hikaru stood up uncertainly, and tried to walk. Unfortunately, she was still dizzy, and when the book flipped again, she landed hard on her elbows. "That's gonna leave a mark."

"What book is this, anyhow?" Hikaru asked the empty air. Almost as if answering her question, the grey-haired girl murmured "Counting by 7s... As long as it doesn't have any shrimp, I'm good."

The girl put the book under her arm, and walked to the self-checkout. She scanned the book, and walked out of the library.

Hikaru sighed and sat up. "Daaaammnnnniittttttt..." she sighed, dragging it out.

The girl got on her bike, placing the book (and Hikaru, though she didn't know it) into a pouch on the front. She biked away from the library, Hikaru bouncing in the front pocket.

Hikaru was woken from her nap by the sound of a garage. The girl was putting her bike away. She picked up the book and Hikaru, and walked inside, hitting the "close" button on her way out.

The girl walked into a relatively small basement, calling out "I'm home!" No one answered. "Dad?" She put the book under her arm and climbed the stairs. Nobody was in the kitchen, and the stove was off.3

"Mom? Marin?" The grey-haired girl put the book down on a table and walked into some part of the house.

Hikaru tried to see if there was a bookshelf anywhere, but either there wasn't one or it wasn't in her (the book's) vision.

"Is it Wednesday and I forgot?" The girl looked outside the window, trying to see if the car was in the driveway. It was. "Are they on a walk? No, they would leave a note..."

Hikaru finally noticed the girl's plight and started to listen. The girl started pacing, under her breath listing what could've happened.

She called out again. "Dad? Mom? Marin?"

Nobody answered.

She sighed, and flopped down on the couch. "Ouch!" The girl sat up and rubbed her back.

She ran her hands down her face, and walked over to the dining room table. "Well then..."

The girl grabbed the book, and took her coat off. Hikaru couldn't see, but it looked like the girl was arching her back.

"Well then, let's go to... hmm, maybe the McKinneys' roof?" The girl asked herself. "Why not? They do have that plum tree." Seeming to have made up her mind, the girl stepped outside, locking the door.

Hikaru watched interestedly from her book as the girl stretched her back again. She to-

What the hell had Hikaru just seen.

The girl literally flew into the air.

From the up-and-down motion, Hikaru guessed the girl had wings. And was using them to fly.

The girl waved at her neighbors, who waved back like it was totally normal to have a winged girl flying over their gardens. She eventually landed on a brown tiled roof, sitting down and grabbing the book.

Hikaru tumbled around, but then looked up and saw the girl had a pair of grey wings behind her. "You're a goddamn angel..."

The girl opened the book, and began reading. Hikaru sighed and leaned back against a wall, and slowly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ay happy fun time it's a story. ANNNNYYYWAYYYY, I should probably put a disclaimer, so yeah I don't own anything except for my OCs, this world, don't own anyone else's OCs, don't own anything I make references to unless it's my stories, don't own any books except for ones I make up, I think that's all so let's get along with the story shall we?**

* * *

Hikaru was woken when the girl shut the book. She blinked, slowly realizing where she was. The girl stretched, and yawned. Hikaru suddenly realized it was twilight, and the girl was falling asleep.

The angel girl stood up and spread her wings, starting to fly away with the book. She hummed a song, her voice slowly getting stronger. Hikaru sighed, and leaned back against the wall. Hopefully, she would be p-

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK SHIT **SHIT** HIKARU WAS FALLING SHE WAS SPINNING OH GOD OH FUCKING SHIT SHE'S GONNA DIE OH FUCK

The book slammed into the ground, the cover flipping open and pages being bent. Hikaru's world inside the book was spinning and she was disoriented and oh my god she was going to die- until the book slowly came to a stop on the ground, muddied and dirty.

Hikaru uncurled from her ball, tentatively standing up. "What...?"

Wait a second... she was dropped... what happened to the angel? Hikaru looked up, but the cover was on the ground, therefore she saw only grass. She sighed. The only was to see what was happening was to come out of the book.

Hikaru reformed, and looked up. The angel girl was about to land on the ground beside her, wings flailing wildly. Hikaru ran to the side, and caught the girl bridal style. The girl stared at Hikaru for a moment, her eyes dull, and passed out.

Hikaru dropped the girl, realizing there was blood streaming out of her wings. She moved to the right wing, and saw a small red glint of metal. Hikaru gingerly moved the feathers, until she saw a small red ball in one of them. She glanced at the left wing, and saw the same ball in it.

She tugged gently at the ball, but it had embedded itself in the wing. Same for the left.

Hikaru sighed, and picked up the girl. She grabbed the book and laid it on the angel, then started walking unsteadily back to the girl's house.

Hikaru had made it to the house, and opened the door weakly.

She threw the girl down, and picked up the book. Hopefully, the library wouldn't mind if she left it outside for a few days. Eventually, someone would pick it up and take it back.

Hikaru was closing the door, when she noticed something about the girl. Her wings seemed to be... fading...

The feathers were slowly falling off, and darkening from grey to red. Hikaru stepped back in, and picked up one of the feathers. She dropped it, and held her hand. Her fingers had been burnt by the feather.

She knelt by the angel, and ran her hand down a wing. It didn't burn. Hikaru narrowed her eyes. She placed a finger on the red ball. It didn't burn her.

She picked up another red feather. It felt even hotter. The angel's wings were more than half gone now. The red balls dropped to the ground, and the wings were just... gone.

The grey-haired girl lay in a scattering of red feathers, and Hikaru realized she was little more than a child. She looked about eleven or twelve.

Hikaru blinked, realizing the girl was waking up. She quickly moved to the door, opening it slowly. The girl's bleary eyes opened, and saw Hikaru. She whispered something, before her eyes closed again.

Hikaru paused for a second. It had sounded like the girl had said...

"Look out behind you." The whisper came again, as a brick was swung into Hikaru's head. She fainted, falling to the ground.

Someone dropped a book on her, just a red textbook. Hikaru's body seeped into the book.

The angel girl closed her eyes, letting herself be picked up and tossed into the back of a van.

* * *

I'm being shaken, and I don't know why. My back hurts.

Those are the two things that are sure right now. Facts I can ground myself in reality with.

Ugh. I have a monster headache. That makes three facts.

I remember a girl catching me... and...

Fuck. I don't have wings anymore.

The Hunters got me.

I open my eyes, squinting. I can't tell if it's bright or dark or both, but it looks really twilightish.

I roll over, feeling my back twinge. Yup. Definitely not a skeleton there.

For some reason, there's a red book in a hamster cage next to me. I peer at it, remembering the girl that caught me was consumed by the book.

Well... not really consumed, I guess. She just kinda melted into the book.

It must've been a trick of the light. As far as I'm confirmed, the girl was a Hunter.

Oh well...

I could feel the bumps in the road, but they started to fade. I blinked, my eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Before I passed out, I saw a needle in my arm. There was a purple-gloved hand holding onto it.

Then I fell asleep.

* * *

Hikaru's eyes jerked open. She uncurled, squinting. There was white as far as the eye- or at least her eye- could see. People milled around, occasionally stopping to chat with each other. Normal behavior for characters. The funny part was, however, that the book didn't seem to end. Hikaru spun around, and her arm hit a boy. He glared at Hikaru, and spouted some strange language.

"Ah," Hikaru said. "Sorry." The boy snorted and ran off.

Hikaru spun on her heel slowly, taking in the vast whiteness.

She had literally no idea what this book was. Stroking her chin thoughtfully, she turned around and walked straight into a wall.

"Crapbuggets." Hikaru rubbed her head, and sank against the wall. She tilted her head back, sighing. There was no sign of a sky.

There was no sky.

The book went on farther than any book she'd seen before.

Hikaru closed her eyes, clenching her fists. She felt her body begin to lift, higher and higher, until she opened her eyes and couldn't see anything. Whiteness surrounded her.

She flipped over, staring up- at least, the direction that felt most like up. Her ascent became faster and faster, until she was going at speeds too high for the human body to handle.

Of course, Hikaru wasn't human, so that wasn't a problem.

A black square came into view. Hikaru slowed, until she was hovering underneath the square. Realizing it was the front of the book, she grabbed the edge of the square and left the book.

* * *

I was shoved into a very dark, very smelly room. Well, not really a room, but it couldn't be called a dungeon. I'm pretty sure one of the Hunters called it a "holding cell", but I don't really care. It's my prison, and that's all I'm concerned about.

Not all, actually. I just realized there's someone else in here.

Fuck.

Ah, double fuck. He- I think they're a he- is coming toward me.

I narrowed my eyes, backing away from the person. He came closer, and stared at me.

"Who in the name of Loziv are you?"

* * *

 **Much POV switch. Very secrets. So book.  
** **Ay leave a review if you like** **Ok, reverting to proper grammar now.**


	3. Chapter 3

Hikaru pulled herself out of the book and onto the tiled floor. She looked around, but there were no sign of her capturers. She turned around to see the book, taller than herself and almost three times as large.

There was no time to wonder what was in the book, however, because a pair of footsteps were coming around the corner. Hikaru scurried behind the book, looking around the edge to see who was coming.

A purple-clothed teen strode around the corner. Hikaru pulled her head behind the giant book, but then stretched around and watched the teen intently. He glanced around, then pulled out a small device.

Hikaru crept closer, and darted over to the wall. Now she was just a corner away from the boy. She couldn't hear anything, so she peeked around the wall.

A black bolt of energy knocked her backwards.

...

This is the day we blow up our house.

Oops. That probably sounds a bit strange. Let me rephrase it.

This is the day we break out of captivity.

No, that makes it sound like we're zoo animals.

Ah, fuck it. It's not like there's gonna be any epic music. Elevator music, maybe, but not epic battle music like the type you'd find in Star Wars. Unless the elevator is playing Star Wars music.

"Dove," Preston interrupts my thoughts. "There is no elevator. There are transport-" I cut him off. "Transport beams, take you to anywhere in the world, yadda yadda."

He sighed, leaning back against the wall. "There are probably mics recording our words." I look at him. "So why are we talking about our escape plan again?"

Preston shrugs. "Well, it won't work anyway. We're two of the most valuable specimens-" I shudder. "Can we please not use the word _specimen_? It makes me uncomfortable." He chuckles, standing up. "Well, if being a specimen makes you uncomfortable..."

The door slides into the wall as the power goes out. "We better _run_!" I leap up, grabbing Preston's arm. "C'mon go go go!" As we run down the hallway, the lights flicker. "We only got a few minutes," he puffed. "This is the main source of electricity for the houses above us, and when everyone plugs in lights all at once, we definitely have at least five."

I nod, too busy running to respond. A hand grasps my foot, and I stumble. Preston stomps on it, and we continue. Looking back, I see a girl lying on the floor. She reaches out to us, looking like a open book.

Wait.

Scratch that.

She _is_ a book.

"Prestoooon!"

...

Hikaru's eyes opened. She sat up, her head flicking back and forth. "W-" She was cut off by a kick to the chest, air rushing out of her lungs. Collapsing onto the floor, she heard voices above her. "Oh c'mon Preston, you didn't need to kick her!" "Of all the flipping-"

The second voice, which must've been Preston's, muttered something unfit for children. "Really? You don't need to murder everyone who looks at you the wrong way. Besides, I can vouch for her. She kept me from splatting on the ground." the first voice- Hikaru thought they were the angel girl- said. Preston snorted. "And when was this?"

Hikaru finally managed to say something, with a proper amount of air in her lungs. "You two sound like an old married couple." Both were silent until Hikaru got up. "No, seriously, you sound like you've been trapped in a time bubble and haven't aged but you've been in there for two months in real time."

A sooty-haired boy- probably Preston- nodded. "Yup, this one's smart. Whaddya think, Dove, a keeper?" The now named Dove snorted. "Well, feel free to-"

 _Ding dong!_

"What was-" Hikaru began to say. "Doorbell." Preston hopped over a chair and made his way to the door. Looking through the peephole, he frowned. "Does there happen to be a conveniently placed bowl of candy next to me?"

Dove shook her head. "Nope." Hikaru spun around, having just now realized they were in a house. "How- the place- What?" Neither Preston nor Dove bothered to answer her, instead rifling through cupboards. "D'ya see any candy?" Preston asked, standing on a counter. Dove threw a bag of raisins at Preston's head. "No, but I found these."

The doorbell rung again, this time a yell of "Trick or treat!" behind it. Hikaru walked over to the door, opening it slightly. "We don't have any candy," she said to the zombie and grim reaper standing there. "Please go away."

The zombie cocked- his? her?- their head. "Then why are there lights on?" Hikaru gestured to the kitchen, where Dove and Preston were still rifling through cupboards. "We're hungry. And sitting down to dinner. Now go away." The two trick or treaters turned away, walking down the front steps as Hikaru shut the door.

"Um, you guys... They left." Dove, needing evidence of this, got up with a can of beans in her left hand and peered out the window. "So they did. 'ey Preston, want some beans?"

Preston turned around in time to catch the can, subsequently falling on the floor. "No, for your information, I don't want beans," he said. "I am hungry though."

Hikaru opened one of the cupboard doors, pulling out a box of cereal. "Anyone want some... Frosted Wheaties?" she asked, craning her neck to read the label.

Dove and Preston both nodded in agreement, the former of the two opening cupboards until she found bowls. Preston rummaged around in a drawer until he found spoons.

After they had all managed to make a mess of the kitchen, they ate cereal. The house was silent.

Eventually, Hikaru asked "D'ya think the owners of the house are gonna be very happy?"


End file.
